It’s not entirely the money that keeps family campgrounds in business, according to Barb Krumm, president of the Carolina Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds.

“How often do you meet the people in the hotel room next to you? Do you even want to? In a campground, just pop the hood of your truck and all your neighbors will come over to see if they can help,” she said, relating a view that the co-founder of the campground she runs in Myrtle Beach, S.C., often expresses.

“I guess the owners and operators are like our guests,” Krumm said. “It’s about the relationships.”

The Star News, Wilmington, N.C., reported that plenty of families have had the chance to sell their land to developers, especially those perched on prime waterfront property. Some waterfront campgrounds have succumbed to the pressure, but a few that have hung on are adamant the land will stay what it has been for generations.

There are fewer than 10 listings for waterfront campgrounds in Southeastern North Carolina.

Lynda Wiggins, 47, the manager of Lanier’s campground in Pender County, said her owner is old school. The campground sits on the Intracoastal Waterway near Surf City.

“The owner says it’s still a place where middle-class people can go,” she said.

Others agree. No amount of money could wrest the land from them.

“This has been and always will remain a campground,” said Seamist Camping Resort manager Dottie O’Donnell. The camp borders Waterway Campground in Brunswick County, on the Intracoastal Waterway across from Ocean Isle Beach.

Krumm said the family campgrounds can hold on because of the low overhead in operations.